Sabian HHX Evolution Cymbal Set with Free 18" Ozone Crash

[AzHeat]

Thank you for that info I will look into the AAX line rides. It's very hard to buy cymbals online and there's only two stores where I live and they don't have much to listen to. Sure wish I lived in Memphis that Drum Shop is awesome!

Drummer_D

No better here in Phoenix. We used to have quite a few decent mom and pop shops, but all folded after GC built out their empire. It was fine for a while, from a purchasing perspective as GC had a fairly decent selection. Now, if you want anything outside of the basics, it's online. Places like mycymbal.com do a great job of recording their cymbals true to life, but obviously headphones make a difference.

The other tough part, is unless you're buying Paiste cymbals, there's too much variation, so unless you buy the exact one, it'll be different. For Sabian, the Evo line is very close from one to the other. It was a Weckl requirement. All others are going to have more variation. If your local GC store is anything like the ones I've been to, they love to crank their cymbals down with the felt so tight and restrictive, absolutely everything sounds like trash.

I bought my Evos based on what I heard on mycymbal. There were others I liked, but knew with a fair degree of certainty the Evos would be really close to the samples. If I could have found a selection in stores....who knows what I would have ended up with. Probably a hand picked mix of not the big names!

 

[Drumdame]

No better here in Phoenix. We used to have quite a few decent mom and pop shops, but all folded after GC built out their empire. It was fine for a while, from a purchasing perspective as GC had a fairly decent selection. Now, if you want anything outside of the basics, it's online. Places like mycymbal.com do a great job of recording their cymbals true to life, but obviously headphones make a difference.

The other tough part, is unless you're buying Paiste cymbals, there's too much variation, so unless you buy the exact one, it'll be different. For Sabian, the Evo line is very close from one to the other. It was a Weckl requirement. All others are going to have more variation. If your local GC store is anything like the ones I've been to, they love to crank their cymbals down with the felt so tight and restrictive, absolutely everything sounds like trash.

I bought my Evos based on what I heard on mycymbal. There were others I liked, but knew with a fair degree of certainty the Evos would be really close to the samples. If I could have found a selection in stores....who knows what I would have ended up with. Probably a hand picked mix of not the big names!

One of the stores that we have in Millbury, MA is Guitar Center and I called them they don't have anything that I would be interested in he said they don't have a big selection of cymbals. And here in Worcester where I live, they have Union music on Southbridge Street. But it is a very small store and it seems as though they got a lot of used gear.

I was on mycymbal.com this morning listening to what you suggested and to me that is far better than what I had bought but now I'm actually afraid to buy anything online because it might sound good online but it doesn't mean it's going to sound good in my small Drum Den. The size of the room and the acoustics it all matters. Well in the end I'll let everyone know what I end up doing but for now I know that the HHX Evos are going back and I'm taking my time listening to a lot more demos. If you can recommend something else that would be much appreciated.

Thanks.
Drummer_D

 

[AzHeat]

I have a small room too, but with mics and isolation headphones everything sounds as it should. Sadly, I've had to play with pads and low volume cymbals, which means my HHX Evos don't get much love at this point, outside of the occasional gig. Surprising how you can be convinced you're playing real stuff with some audio engineering trickery. Effectively saying, I wouldn't worry about the sound in your Den. If wearing hearing protection, it won't matter much, but mic friendly cymbals can make a huge difference.

You can get cymbal packs from mycymbal.com as well. At least you could save a bit and get exactly what you heard. My Evos were actually better sounding when I got them. Definitely more dimension to them in person, but sound bites were very close. Wasn't disappointed in the least. The biggest problem with online (blind) purchases is you hear a Zildjian K ride as an example and think wow, that is the bees knees, only to acquisition one and discover it's nothing like what you heard. Cymbal packs, however uncool they may be to some at least solve the problem of finding cymbals that complement each other when no one around you has anything. If you happen to find them with recorded sound bites you like, even better.

Obviously, everything can be bought on Amazon, but that purchasing model fails in many respects....like cymbals!

 

[Drumdame]

I have a small room too, but with mics and isolation headphones everything sounds as it should. Sadly, I've had to play with pads and low volume cymbals, which means my HHX Evos don't get much love at this point, outside of the occasional gig. Surprising how you can be convinced you're playing real stuff with some audio engineering trickery. Effectively saying, I wouldn't worry about the sound in your Den. If wearing hearing protection, it won't matter much, but mic friendly cymbals can make a huge difference.

You can get cymbal packs from mycymbal.com as well. At least you could save a bit and get exactly what you heard. My Evos were actually better sounding when I got them. Definitely more dimension to them in person, but sound bites were very close. Wasn't disappointed in the least. The biggest problem with online (blind) purchases is you hear a Zildjian K ride as an example and think wow, that is the bees knees, only to acquisition one and discover it's nothing like what you heard. Cymbal packs, however uncool they may be to some at least solve the problem of finding cymbals that complement each other when no one around you has anything. If you happen to find them with recorded sound bites you like, even better.

Obviously, everything can be bought on Amazon, but that purchasing model fails in many respects....like cymbals!

Thank you for your feedback I'm taking everything into consideration! Now that I think about it... I use filtered earplugs and crank my Sansui speakers that could make a huge difference but that's how I like to play when I cover songs.

Drummer_D

 

[Drumdame]

Returning the Sabian HHX EVOS... after covering many songs I realized that the entire set is way too bright. My son and I are settling on a Zildjian K Custom Dark box set and I hope this will be the "chef's kiss"! Wish us luck!

Drummer_D

 

[BGDurham]

Returning the Sabian HHX EVOS... after covering a many songs I realized that the entire set is way too bright. My son and I are settling on a Zildjian K Custom Dark box set and I hope this will be the "chef's kiss"! Wish us luck!

Drummer_D

Hope it works out! Disappointing to have such high hopes about the HHX Evos and then dislike them. Let's go KC Darks!

 

[Drumdame]

Hope it works out! Disappointing to have such high hopes about the HHX Evos and then dislike them. Let's go KC Darks!

Well at least my son and I know what the ZKC Dark ride sounds like because that's what my son bought used almost four years ago and that's what we've been playing on. The rest of the set should be a blend. Out with the old and in with the new! I'm sure you know it's very hard to buy online and listening to demos on a cell phone or a tablet. Although I did have ear buds in.

Drummer_D

 

[Hollywood Jim]

Don't get discouraged. Finding and buying cymbals is the most difficult part of buying drum gear. I finally came up with my formula for buying cymbals.
I use the same drum sticks to test cymbals that I use when I play. (The drum sticks makes a huge difference in the sound of the cymbal). I bring one or two of my current cymbals with me in order to compare the sound. I try out cymbals in the store until I find one that I like. I make sure I can return it if I find I don't like it. I use the new cymbal at my next gig. I usually make a couple of returns until I end up with the right cymbal.

.

 

[Drumdame]

Don't get discouraged. Finding and buying cymbals is the most difficult part of buying drum gear. I finally came up with my formula for buying cymbals.
I use the same drum sticks to test cymbals that I use when I play. (The drum sticks makes a huge difference in the sound of the cymbal). I bring one or two of my current cymbals with me in order to compare the sound. I try out cymbals in the store until I find one that I like. I make sure I can return it if I find I don't like it. I use the new cymbal at my next gig. I usually make a couple of returns until I end up with the right cymbal.

.

Thanks for the encouragement and the tip... although it's only the second box set and I'm hoping it will be the "Sweet Sound" we're looking for!

Drummer_D

 

[AzHeat]

Certainly nothing wrong with the K Custom Darks. Those are pretty sweet. Best of luck with the new set.

 

[Drumdame]

Certainly nothing wrong with the K Custom Darks. Those are pretty sweet. Best of luck with the new set.

Thanks!

Drummer_D